Multiple HDS seal installations

When installing two metal-cased radial shaft seals in the same housing bore, either in a tandem or back-to-back arrangement, care must be taken that neither of the sealing lips can run dry at any time. To reduce the risk of dry running, the space between the seals should be filled with a suitable grease.

To avoid dry running, SKF recommends using spacer lugs or a spacing washer between the two seals. The spacing washer should be provided with lubrication holes so that grease can be supplied to the space between the sealing lips via a grease fitting (fig 1). No spacing washer is required when using seals that have spacer lugs built into the air side of the metal case (fig 2). HDSD and HDSE seals can be supplied from SKF with holes pre-drilled in the metal case to mate with corresponding passages in the housing bore.